Northwest passage - on open water to Greenland!
Oct 6, 2004 21: 07 EST
Published Oct 3, 2004 18: 40 EST
340 miles to Greenland, the air temperature is -1° C, sea water 1,5° C, hardly no wind, calm sea. Dagmar is sailing to Greenland!
"The conditions are completely unusual for us. After weeks of no severe frost, ice is again forming everywhere around and on the ship. But this calm passage does good to us.
We still have our guard up and have encountered a few ice bergs, but are no longer concerned by ice barriers to stop us. We read much, do some work on the ship, bake bread and a cake sometimes.
The ice was at our heels all the way to Pond Inlet. We had to change anchors due to large floes coming at us. That's why we left already the next day.
"PolarBound", went together with us for a short while but is still dependent on ice-breaker assistance. Yesterday it was still in the Lancaster sound.
There are really extreme ice conditions this year. We must be careful, but the ice will not be able to prevent us from proceeding anymore. We will reach Greenland in two days, and be able to tie up to a jetty for the first time since Cambridge Bay. That will be the first night in a long time without keeping watch - everyone will get a full nights sleep!"
Arved Fuchs is the Captain of the "Dagmar Aaen", continuing her sail after overwintering in the northern polar region of Canada, on Victoria Island. Last September, the North West Passage was impossible and the Dagmar Aaen was forced to overwinter in Cambridge Bay. Now the crew of 12 are out on another attempt, currently heading for Greenland.
100 years after the discovery of the North West Passage by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, this year’s expedition will be the 100th to attempt to navigate the Passage without the help of ice breakers. If successful, Arved Fuchs and the Dagmar Aaen will then have made a complete circumnavigation of the northern polar region. In 2002 he sailed the North East Passage along the Siberian coast.
Image of Dagmar navigating the ice, courtesy of the team.
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